| | Pianist DVD (5 Customer Reviews)
| Category | Dramas DVDs, Music (General) Movies, World War II Videos, Nazis, Pianists/Pianos, Jewish, Holocaust | | Starring | Frank Finlay, Thomas Kretschmann, Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Maureen Lipman, Michael Zebrowski, Jessica Kate Meyer, Ruth Platt, Julia Rayner, Ed Stoppard | | Director | Roman Polanski | | Composer | Wojciech Kilar | | Costume Designer | Anna Sheppard | | Director of Photography | Pawel Edelman | | Producer | Roman Polanski, Alain Sarde, Robert Benmussa | | Screenwriter | Ronald Harwood | | Source Writer | Wladyslaw Szpilman |
This Academy Award-winning documentary film stars Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman, great Polish-Jewish pianist and the ardous quest for survival that he undergoes during World War II. The film was directed by Roman Polanski, who based some of the materials on his own story of survival. Special DVD ffeatures include clips of Wladyslaw Szpilman playing the piano; also interviews with Oscar Winners Polanski, Brody and Ronald Harewood. Roman Polanski's THE PIANIST is based on the memoirs of the talented pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrian Brody), a Polish Jew, who miraculously survived World War II. The first half of the film transports viewers to 1939 Poland, and brings it to life clearly and believably. Szpilman is a tall, handsome, winsome man who is revered for his piano performances on public radio. He lives with his family--an intelligent, loving, and spirited bunch--in an upscale flat in central Warsaw. Bombings have begun to torment the citizens of Warsaw, and step by step, the Nazis infiltrate, the Jews are branded and set apart from their neighbors, imprisoned in a ghetto, and slowly exterminated. The story is told through Szpilman's eyes, and thus carries as much confusion and fear as disgust and torment. Polanski paints Warsaw in bleak shades of gray and black, expressing the helplessness of the Jewish people and the cruelty of the Nazis with captivating photography. In the second half of the film, which takes place in the early 1940s, Szpilman is alone, having managed to avoid the trains to the death camps. His struggle to survive, with some help from non-Jews but mostly his own will to thrive, takes place in long, silent, languid stretches filled with the imagined piano music that inspires Szpilman to live. In a climactic scene of immense beauty and spine-tingling tension, Szpilman must actually perform for a German soldier who is inexplicably patrolling the near-deserted and utterly dilapidated Warsaw ghetto. THE PIANIST, in the subtlety of its sublime and heartbreaking tale, is carried by the intensely moving performance of Brody, whose transformation is truly unforgettable. Theatrical release: December 27, 2002 (Limited) Pianist Reviews: "...THE PIANIST is a worthy Holocaust drama and a welcome return to form for Roman Polanski..."
-- Mark Keizer, Box Office "...A monument to the indestructibility of the human spirit..."
-- Chris Chang, Film Comment "...THE PIANIST achieves the monumental without abandoning the modesty of its origins....Polanski's strange genius serves Szpilman's remembrance..."
-- Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times "...Mr. Polanski approaches this material with a calm, fierce authority. This is certainly the best work Mr. Polanski has done in many years..."
-- A. O. Scott, New York Times "...[Polanski] brings history to life....It stays with you..."
-- Mike Clark, USA Today "...One of the most quietly moving stories in survivor literature, and now the cinema....Polanski tells the story with all of his cinematic mastery..."
-- Glenn Kenny, Premiere "...[A film] of riveting power and sadness, a great match of film and filmmaker -- and star, too..."
-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly "...A portrait of hell so shattering it's impossible to shake..."
-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone "...A work of sustained tension and ferocious clarity, and as near-perfect a marriage of subject and artist as could be imagined..."
-- David Thompson, Sight and Sound Pianist | List Price | $14.98 (You save $4.63) | | Studio | Universal Studios Home Video | | Orig Year | 2002 | | DVD Encoding | Region 1 | | All Time Sales Rank |  2532  | | CD Universe Part number | 5740698 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Aug 24, 2004 | | Rating | R (MPAA) | | Rating Reason | violence and brief strong language | | Running Time | 150 Minutes | | Additional Info | Widescreen | | Movie Details | Color; Digitally Processed; Widescreen |
Pianist Movie Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)  the saddness
to me this movie is a very sad but true movie i think no one on god's earth should have ever been treated like that it is a hurting feeling and just imaging if that was you that was being beat on or someone you really love
Submitted by jakeb626 (buffalo ny usa)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No One of the best movies of all time
I didn't really know much about the holocaust until I saw this movie. I have done a lot of reading about it since I saw this. I can not believe I went 42 years of my life not really knowing what went on during that time. This movie changed my way of thinking about a lot of things. You MUST see this movie! My favorite scene was when he went in to this house to find food and found a can but could not open it. I was so happy for him! Then he drops it and there stands a german soldier! My heart just sank! Perfect scene! You get so involved hoping he finds food because you can feel his hunger pains and then he finds it only to be discovered by the German! There are so many scenes in the movie like this. A MUST see.
Submitted by Robert (Columbus, Ga. USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Impresive. A must-see
Allthought the "Best Film" Academy Award was won by Chicago, The Pianist is a piece of art, worth of admiration. Polanski gives us a great movie, with very good acting (Adrien Brody) and a nicelly done drama, showing how much life is worth when survival under all cost, is needed. No doubt this film is one of the bests ever, no kidding. It's definitivelly a must-see.
Submitted by Kurt Ian Veesenmayer (Berlin, Germany)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Compulsory viewing.
As Polanski's commentary reveals this is an accurate retelling of an individuals struggle to stay alive against incredible odds during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Don't expect to feel particularly good during most of this film, the catastrophic consequences of a dictaorship are well documented. There is however hope, heroes can exist in the most unlikely places but in real life don't always get the rewards they deserve.
Submitted by a reviewer (Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Best film of 2002!
Adrien Brody gives a flawless performance in this true story about a young musician struggling to survive in Warsaw, Poland during WW2. The films focus on survival makes it for an inspirational film, but there are some gut-wrenching moments of death and despair. The supporting cast is great, especially Emilia Fox, Thomas Kretschmann, Ed Stoppard and Maureen Lipman.
Submitted by a reviewer (Cardiff, Wales)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No | Have you seen this movie? |  |
Pianist DVD Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen -
1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Dolby Surround - Spanish
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette: STORY OF SURVIVAL
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes
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